You’ve got the nacho cheese situation under control, the dips are planned, and the guest list is set. But then it hits you—the car is piled with board games, and you realize you have absolutely nothing planned for the kids. If I don’t keep my two monsters busy during the game, I’m going to spend the entire fourth quarter breaking up fights over the last chicken wing. Sound familiar?
Getting the little ones involved in the big game doesn’t mean they have to understand a blitz or care about the quarterback’s stats. It means giving them their own version of the Super Bowl experience. I’ve learned this the hard way, usually around the time the halftime show starts and my five-year-old decides to practice his drum solo on the coffee table. After years of trial and error (and a few spilled sodas), I’ve curated the ultimate list of Super Bowl activities for kids that will actually keep them entertained.
Here are 10 ways to make sure the whole family wins on game day.
1. Host a Mini Football Toss Game
Setting Up the “Stadium”
You don’t need a full backyard to make this work. Grab some painter’s tape (the kind that won’t ruin your floors) and mark a line on the carpet. Hand the kids a soft foam football—the kind that won’t take out a vase or your shins.
The Scoring System
Let’s get a little competitive. Assign point values to different areas of the room. The couch cushions become the “end zone,” a laundry basket gets you a field goal, and hitting dad in the back of the head while he’s watching the pregame show is an automatic touchdown? (Just kidding… mostly.)
I do this with my kids and it burns off exactly the right amount of energy before we need them to sit still for the puppymonkeybaby halftime commercial. The best part? It requires zero prep and you can call a timeout whenever you need to.
2. DIY Football Field Snack Mat
Why It Works
Ever wonder why kids eat better when the food is shaped like something other than food? Same principle applies here. Grab a roll of brown kraft paper or a cheap white tablecloth you don’t care about. Tape it to the kids’ table or a section of the coffee table.
Let Them Decorate
Hand over some green and white markers or crayons. Have them draw the yard lines, the end zones, and the team logos. This isn’t about artistic perfection, IMO, it’s about keeping them busy while you sear the jalapeño poppers.
Once the masterpiece is complete, lay out the snacks. Put the veggie sticks on the 50-yard line. The goldfish crackers become the “players.” It turns snacking into a game. FYI, this activity is a huge win because it combines crafting and eating.
3. Commercial Bingo
The Card Creation
Let’s be honest, for a lot of us, the commercials are the main event anyway. Get the kids in on the action. Before the game starts, sit down with some cardstock or even just pieces of paper.
Draw a 5×5 grid and fill it with things you might see in a Super Bowl ad. Think: a cute animal, a car doing something impossible, a celebrity you haven’t seen in ten years, someone crying, or a fast-food burger.
Gameplay
Every time a commercial features one of those things, they cover the square. The first one to get five in a row yells “BINGO!” and wins a prize. Maybe they get first pick of the dessert, or they get to choose the movie for family night tomorrow. It keeps their eyes glued to the screen during breaks, which means less whining about when the game is going to be over.
4. Printable Super Bowl Coloring Pages
The Quiet Time Saver
Sometimes you just need 15 minutes of silence. I get it. There are a ton of free, printable coloring pages online featuring football helmets, Super Bowl logos, and generic “GAME DAY” lettering.
Upgrade the Tools
Don’t just throw a 64-pack of broken crayons at them. Pull out the special art supplies. The markers that are usually off-limits. The glitter glue sticks. By making it feel like a premium activity, they’ll buy into it for longer.
Pro tip from someone who learned the hard way: Put a plastic tablecloth down if glitter is involved. Trust me on this one. You don’t want to be finding sparkles in your seven-layer dip next week.
5. Football Player Dress-Up
Raid the Closet
This is the simplest idea on the list. Go to your closet, grab a few of your old jerseys (or buy cheap ones from a thrift store), some baseball caps worn backwards, and face paint if you’re brave.
Let Them Transform
Let the kids dress up as their favorite players. They can wear the gear while they watch, play the toss game, or just run around tackling the dog. My son puts on my old high school jersey and suddenly thinks he’s 6’4″ and 250 pounds. The confidence boost is hilarious to watch.
It makes them feel like they are part of the event, not just bystanders. Plus, it’s an instant photo op for the grandparents.
6. Build a “Stadium” with Blocks or LEGOs
The Architecture Challenge
Ask the kids to build a stadium for the “game.” Whether it’s Duplos for the toddlers or LEGOs for the bigger kids, challenge them to create seats, a field, and a jumbotron.
Connect It to the Real Thing
As they’re building, point out the actual stadium on the TV. “Look, their stadium has a roof! Can you add a roof to yours?” This keeps them looking up at the game intermittently without forcing them to watch it.
This activity is great because it sparks creativity and gives them a mission. It’s not just aimless play; they are working towards a goal. And when they finish, they have a centerpiece for their own little game day zone.
7. The Snack Taste Test
Setting the Stage
Kids love having opinions, especially about food. Before the game, pick out three or four different game-day snacks you already have. Maybe it’s three kinds of chips, two different salsas, or a few types of popcorn.
Blind Taste Test
Put them in bowls labeled 1, 2, and 3 (without telling them what’s what). Give each kid a scorecard and have them rate the snack on a scale of 1 to 5. They can grade on crunchiness, saltiness, or just “yumminess.”
This turns a simple snack table into an interactive game. At halftime, you can reveal the winners. Spoiler alert: the store-brand chips often beat the name brand in my house. Kids have weird taste buds, and it’s hilarious to watch them defend their choices.
8. Non-Football Board Game Corner
Create a Distraction Zone
Look, not every kid is going to be mesmerized by the big game. And that’s fine. Set up a corner of the room—away from the main TV sightline—with some of their favorite board games.
Rotate the Games
Have a few options ready to go. Maybe start with Jenga for the suspense factor, then move to Uno for the fast pace, and end with a puzzle they can work on throughout the game. This gives them autonomy. If they get bored, they know exactly where to go.
It also provides a landing spot for the kids who are “sportsball-adjacent”—they want to be in the room for the energy, but don’t actually care who is winning.
9. Guess the Score Prediction Game
Get Them Involved Early
Right before kickoff, give each kid a piece of paper and a pen. Have them write down their guess for the final score of the game. It doesn’t matter if they understand how scoring works.
The Prize
The kid who gets closest to the actual final score (without going over, Price is Right rules!) wins the “Super Bowl Champion” trophy for the night. The prize can be something simple like a bag of their favorite candy or the privilege of staying up 15 minutes later on the next school night.
It gives them a stake in the outcome of the game. Suddenly, they care about every touchdown, not because they like the team, but because it gets them closer to candy.
10. Halftime Show Dance Party
Clear the Floor
As soon as the second quarter ends, crank up the volume. The halftime show is designed to be a spectacle. The lights, the sound, the crazy costumes—it’s basically a music video made for kids (depending on the artist, of course :/ ).
Let Loose
This is the perfect time to let the kids get up and dance. They don’t care if it’s Usher, Rihanna, or The Weeknd. It’s loud and there are flashy lights. My kids spend the entire 15 minutes jumping off the couch like it’s a trampoline.
This is my favorite activity because it burns off their sugar-induced energy right before the make-or-break final quarter. I can usually get them settled back down with a post-dance snack just in time for the two-minute warning.
Making the Big Game Fun for Everyone
You don’t need a themed party planner or a Pinterest-perfect setup to make Super Bowl Sunday work for the whole family. It’s about lowering your expectations for a perfectly quiet viewing experience and raising the fun factor for the little humans in the room.
Pick a couple of these ideas that fit your style. Maybe you’re feeling the Commercial Bingo, or perhaps the Snack Mat is more your speed. Mix and match. The goal isn’t to entertain them every single second—it’s to give them their own traditions so that years from now, they remember game day as something fun, and not just the time dad yelled at the TV for three hours.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go hide the good snacks before my kids find them and I’m left eating celery sticks during the fourth quarter. Good luck, and enjoy the game
